chapter one: mansion rules

When the war first broke out and they rid of the old government, I knew E would take the place of Dictator, he's headstrong and adored by everybody... the stories they tell of him in the war, sweet and romanticized E, the tall, handsome man, who single handedly won the entire war himself! Or so that's what they'll try and make you believe. I know E takes his position very seriously, he told me our time together would dwindle as he worked hard on rebuilding our great nation! And although I love this place, our home, now destroyed by a war not worth fighting, and I of course appreciate and respect that E is, In fact, the only man that can help us, I can't kick this great deal of spite I feel towards E, as he's locked away in his office. Here I am, alone, with nobody but the maids and the butlers to keep me company!

Here in the mansion there are many rooms, and with many rooms comes many rules, especially for me. E is 18 years my senior, so he's always sort of treated me like a child anyways, but now that we're here it's only heightened.

Rule 1. I am not allowed in his office while he is working, which is always, unless I am called in. So. I see him twice a day. Once at breakfast in the great room and once at dinner with the rest of the house.

Rule 2. I am not allowed outside without prior approval by him, he has tried to convince me it is for my safety but I know it is to keep me from the press, the men and women with cameras who stand outside and try to snipe pictures of all of us all day! What lives!

Rule 3. If I do go outside, I need security, lots of it, and to basically be blocked and covered by somebody, at all times, I keep my head wrapped in a scarf, big sunglasses to hide my eyes, I haven't been out in a while though, I mostly just watch the town from the windows.

Rule 4. Although this is more for the house staff than it is too me, the rule is, I get whatever I want. I think this is to make up for the first three rules, my wish around here is their command, I don't typically abuse it though, for the last year in this house I've kept mostly to myself, creating the least amount of noise and trouble possible.

But I'm growing more and more bored as time goes on.

The hassle of going outside keeps me from even bothering to do so, unless it's with him for a press meeting or for a meet and greet somewhere, I've paced the mansion so many times I know every nook and cranny of all 38 rooms. (Minus, E's office of course)

Recently I've started abusing my powers around here more and more, asking for ridiculously expensive items, like clothes and shoes, all brought to me, in the blink of an eye really, and it stopped being fun. and then I decided to do the same, but with food, having the chefs make pie after pie and I'll sit in the kitchen and eat them all one by one, I didn't think much of it, they didn't either — it was keeping them busy, and I've always been such a sweet girl really, I knew they enjoyed talking with me.

Over the last month or so, now, in our second year of being here I've gained some weight, I know this because every morning, I do not dress myself — no! I get dressed by the maids. They wake me up, and I stand there as they lift my arms and dress me. as they were slipping on my tights this morning they struggled to get them past my thighs, And while belting my collared blue dress one of the maids said they had to make a new hole! She smiled at me,

"Eating well this winter are we?" She said as she fiddled with the belt around my waist. She sighed "it seems we'll have to make a new hole, Danny in the kitchen said you've been asking him to whip up a lot of deserts lately, maybe it's finally catching up!" I had convinced Danny I wanted to start being a taste tester on a fancy TV show one day, so he probably told the others and they didn't think much of this, I didn't care anyways, I knew the truth was I was bored and I was only eating to pass the time as I have exhausted all other forms of entertainment, or maybe the truth was I was eating to see how long it'll take for E to even notice if I was to start getting softer and his sweet little girl became a round little dumplin'

That morning after popping another hole into my belt I went to have breakfast in the great room.

"There she is" said E, smiling wide as usual. I took my seat across from him and the Butlers brought over my dishes, pancakes and sausage, eggs, biscuits, a plate of muffins in the center of the table and of course, endless fruit. I was excited less by the fruit, excited more by the other plates. I started eating, quickly, shoveling it all in, seeing how quickly I could burn through it all, I made my way through pancake mountains, the sausage and eggs, I could feel my belt straining. E finally looked up from his paper,

"hungry this morning are we?" He kept smiling and went back to whatever he was reading. I pushed my plate away and looked at the muffins in the center of the table. one, I grab it, gone. two, I grab another. There's two more left now. my belt is so tight I can't take it anymore and it seems it couldn't anymore either, the brass buckle breaks and my belt falls to the floor.

E puts his paper down. "Oh sweetheart" he motions for the Butlers to come take the plates.

I look at him, puppy dog eyes. "I'm sorry E I'm just so hungry!" I stammer.

"I know princess" he replies "it's okay" he picks my belt up off the floor and takes my hand, "anything you want" he orders for the maids to take me to my room so I can "rest" the episode this morning was going to be the only thing the mansion talks about for days, it's big news in this empty boring place.

"Violets belt broke at breakfast! she just kept eating!"

"did you see how chubby she's gotten lately?

"I wonder if E notices!"

The truth is I haven't gotten THAT much chubbier, enough for an extra hole in the belt, but my dresses and tights hid any belly I had developed and so only the maids who dressed me knew, and of course they'll blow it up to make tangible gossip.

all the women in this place were jealous of me, they all wanted E, and here they were sleeping in cramped quarters while I didn't lift a finger, and now they had to watch me grow fat as they eat the scraps after dinner.

It's sad really, I know. I've never been this bitter, and this mean. these girls used to be my friends, but now I tingle at the thought of them waiting at me hand and foot.

When I got back to my room and the maids got me into bed, my door opened and a butler pushed in a whole cart of food! I heard the maids mutter to one another but I couldn't help but smile wide, E came in after the butler,

"If my baby is hungry, she will eat, but we don't have to make a spectacle in the great room!" He laughed, silently, only to himself.

He came and sat on my bed holding a plate of chocolates,

"Open wide" he said as he fed them too me, one by one, "what is with you being so hungry lately?" He put his hand to my stomach, "I'll have to order you new belts, I see"

E looked around, nodded at everyone, and then kissed me on the forehead.

"Eat up, My violet, I will see you later!" He announced, before he got up and left.

I finished the plate of chocolates, I eventually finished the whole cart of food, calories upon calories or rich deserts, cakes and cookies... I wondered if E was genuinely being nice, maybe he just thought this was a phase, a sweet tooth that would pass, maybe he thought if he brought me every kind of cookie ever made I'd never ask for another again, or maybe, just maybe, he was in on this too?